Author: Cody C. Unterseher

The Rev'd Cody C. Unterseher (1976-2012) was Priest Associate and former Theologian in Residence at Christ Episcopal Church, Bronxville, NY, and an oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, ND. He held a B.A. in Theology from the University of Mary, Bismarck, ND; an M.A. in Liturgical Studies from Saint John's School of Theology•Seminary, Collegeville, MN; and an S.T.M. in Anglican Studies from The General Theological Seminary, New York, NY. At the time of his death, he was working toward a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and serving as editor of The Anglican, the journal of The Anglican Society in North America. Fr. Cody died suddenly from complications associated with an aneurysm in April, 2012.

A charitable reading of Anglicanorum Coetibus, one that seeks to understand it not as the creation of a new ecumenical problem but as the pastoral solution it is intended to be, will allow us all — Anglicans and Roman Catholics alike — to press ahead with the “collaboration” and “shared witness” and pursuit of deepened ecumenical relations with one another to which the Archbishop and the Pope are both committed.

The week of Prayer for Christian Unity affords a fine opportunity for Christians of many denominations to gather and pray for the healing of the sad divisions that have fractured the church and continue to compromise the integrity of Christian witness in the world.

As an Episcopalian, I live and work in a church that has tried to deal accommodatingly with liturgical change—and has done so for some time. And in spite of all the headline-grabbing difficulties in the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion, there remains a lot of room for positive, healthy diversity in expression, especially on the level of parish life.